1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to an apparatus and a method for generating a calling tone of a wire/wireless telephone and, more specifically, to an apparatus and a method for generating a calling tone of a wire/wireless telephone in dependence upon sensed distance between a portable device (wireless telephone) and a fixed device (fixed body or base of a telephone) according to electric field strength of a received ring signal when the ring signal is received in a portable device of the wire/wireless telephone, and for selectively controlling generation of the calling tone according to the sensed distance.
2. Related Art
Generally, a wire/wireless telephone is composed of a fixed device (wired telephone) and a portable device (wireless telephone). The fixed device can directly make a call to the outside by being connected to a wire line, and the portable device can make a call to the outside by wireless communication with the fixed device.
When a call is generated from the outside, the wire/wireless telephone system generates a calling tone in the fixed device, and immediately transmits a ring sensing signal to the portable device, thereby processing a ring calling tone in the portable device. Thus, the ring calling tone simultaneously rings in the fixed device and in the portable device.
In this case, ring calling bell sounds simultaneously occur in both the fixed device and the portable device. If the bell sound of the fixed device is louder than that of the portable device, it may be difficult to locate the portable device when a user wants to answer the phone with the portable device having the relatively smaller ring calling bell sound.
Also, when the wire/wireless telephone is an IT phone having a portable device, it is supposed to produce a higher sound by using a device having more than forty chords. However, since the calling tone of the portable device is designed to have a buzzer or a single-sound bell sound, there may be considerable differences in the sound source.
Therefore, when receiving a ring signal in the wire/wireless telephone system having such a portable device, different sound sources are created since calling tones of the fixed device and the portable device are different from each other. As a result, when the fixed device is located near the portable device, a user may hear unpleasant calling tones owing to the different calling tones.
In a recent telephone using high quality chords, a body or base (the fixed device) has a calling tone composed of a sound source with more than forty chords and the portable device has a single-sounded calling tone. Thus, when the fixed device and the portable device simultaneously ring with the calling tone, a user may hear a very unpleasant calling tone.
To solve the above problem, the present applicant filed a Korean Patent Application No. 10-1996-0045743, entitled METHOD FOR GENERATING RING RECEIVING SOUND IN WIRELESS TELEPHONE, published on 9 Feb. 1999.
A fixed device of the wire/wireless telephone comprises a ring signal detector, a system controller, a display, a storage, a key input unit, a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) generator, first/second/third amplifiers, a wireless modem, a speaker, a microphone, a hook switch, and a voice processor.
The ring signal detector detects a ring signal received from a local line, and supplies the detected ring receiving detection signal to the system controller.
The system controller processes a ring calling tone according to the ring receiving detection signal supplied from the ring signal detector, outputs the ring calling tone to the speaker through the first amplifier, and controls transmission of wireless data for a ring calling tone processing control signal to the portable device through the third amplifier and the wireless modem. The system controller processes a ring calling tone during ring-on time of the ring receiving detection signal, controls output of the ring calling tone through the first amplifier and the speaker, and controls transmission of a ring calling tone processing control signal to the portable device through the wireless modem during a ring-off time (idle period) of the ring receiving detection signal. In addition, the system controller controls processing of a single-sounded ring calling tone or a high-chord ring calling tone with more than forty chords according to the kind of wire/wireless telephone.
The storage unit comprises a read-only memory (ROM) storing various programs and a random access memory (RAM) temporarily storing data generated while performing a program, and has an area for setting various functions.
The key input unit has keys for inputting various functions and control commands and number keys for performing a dialing function, and supplies a key selection input signal from a user to the system controller.
The display displays various processing and operating states in accordance with a key input signal inputted from the key input unit under control of the system controller.
The DTMF generator generates a DTMF signal corresponding to the key input signal inputted through the key input unit by the user under control of the system controller, and supplies the DTMF signal to the voice processor.
The voice processor processes a voice signal from a caller received through the local line to output the voice signal through the speaker, and processes a voice signal inputted through the microphone to transmit the voice signal to the other party through the local line.
The first amplifier amplifies a calling tone processing signal generated in the system controller and the voice signal processed in the voice processor to a certain level, and outputs the amplified signals through the speaker.
The second amplifier amplifies the voice signal of the user inputted through the microphone to a certain level, and supplies the amplified signal to the voice processor.
The third amplifier amplifies the calling tone processing control signal generated in the system controller to a certain level, supplies the amplified signal to the wireless modem, and amplifies a demodulated voice signal and various data supplied from the wireless modem to a certain level to output the amplified signal and the data.
The wireless modem band-modulates a signal inputted through the third amplifier, transmits the modulated signal to the portable device through an antenna, and demodulates a signal transmitted from the portable device to a voice band signal. It then supplies the demodulated signal to the third amplifier. The wireless modem receives a radio frequency (RF) signal transmitted from the portable device by means of an RF transceiving module included therein, modulates the various signals and the data supplied through the third amplifier to an RF signal, and then transmits the RF signal to the portable device.
A portable device of a wire/wireless telephone comprises a wireless modem, a third amplifier, a system controller, a display, a storage unit, a key input unit, first/second amplifiers, a speaker, and a microphone.
The system controller controls overall operations of the portable device, receives the ring calling tone processing control signal from the fixed device, and controls ringing of the ring calling tone during an idle period of a ring signal.
The storage unit stores an identification (ID) of the portable device and various programs, and temporarily stores various data generated while executing the programs under control of the system controller.
The key input unit has number keys for performing various functions and a dialing function, and supplies to the system controller a key input signal inputted according to user selection.
The third amplifier amplifies a voice signal and various transceiving data to a predetermined level, and outputs the amplified signal and the data. The first and second amplifiers amplify a processed calling tone and a voice signal to a certain level so as to output the calling tone and the signal through the speaker, and amplifies a voice signal of a user inputted through the microphone to a certain level in order to transmit the amplified signal to the fixed device through the wireless modem.
The wireless modem modulates a voice signal to be transmitted under control of the system controller by including an RF transceiving module, transmits the modulated signal to the fixed device through an antenna as an RF signal, demodulates various signals received through the antenna, and then supplies the demodulated signals to the third amplifier.
A calling tone processing operation using the wire/wireless telephone in accordance with a configuration such as that discussed above will now be described.
When the fixed device is in a standby state, it is determined whether the ring signal is detected by the ring signal detector.
If the ring signal is not detected through a local line, the fixed device maintains the standby state and continuously checks for reception of the ring signal. If the ring signal is detected, the system controller of the fixed device generates a bell sound or a melody sound as a calling tone during a ring-on time of the detected ring signal in order to inform the user of a ring receiving signal.
While the calling tone is generated, it is determined whether a ring-off time (idle period) is detected from the detected ring signal.
If the idle period of the ring signal is not detected, the calling tone is continuously generated. In this case, the ring signal is received from the local line and has ring-on and ring-off time periods, thereby generating a ring calling tone during the ring-on time period and stopping the generation of the ring calling tone during the ring-off time period. The generation of the ring calling tone is repeated during the ring-on time period so that the user can hear the ring calling tone.
However, if the idle period of the ring signal is detected from the detected ring signal, wireless data for the ring calling tone generating control signal is transmitted to the portable device during the idle period of the ring signal by controlling the RF transceiving module of the wireless modem of the fixed device.
At this point, it is determined whether the hook switch of the fixed device is turned off. If it is determined that the hook switch is turned off, transmission of the wireless data for the ring calling tone generating control signal to the portable device is disabled. Then, a call is made with a caller by connecting a speech path with the caller through the local line.
After that, it is determined whether the hook switch is turned on during telephone conversation. If it is determined that the hook switch is turned on, the call is completed and the fixed device is initialized. In other words, the fixed device is converted into the standby state.
If it is not determined that the hook switch is turned off, the wireless data for the ring calling tone generating control signal transmitted from the fixed device is received through the RF transceiving module of the wireless modem of the portable device, and is supplied to the system controller of the portable device.
Then, the system controller of the portable device controls outputting of a calling tone, such as a bell sound or a melody sound, through the speaker according to a ring receiving control signal transmitted from the fixed device during the idle period of the ring signal.
As in the case above, after ringing of the ring calling tone in the fixed device during the ring-on time period of the ring signal and ringing of the ring calling tone in the portable device during the idle period (ring-off time), the system controller of the fixed device determines whether the hook switch is turned off in the fixed device or the portable device. At this point, if the hook switch is turned on, that is, the user does not answer the phone, the calling tone is continuously generated in the fixed device and the portable device during the ring-on and ring-off time periods.
Finally, a method for processing the calling tone of the wire/wireless telephone processes the calling tone in the fixed device and the portable device with the use of the ring-on and ring-off time periods of the detected ring signal.
However, such a method for processing the calling tone of the wire/wireless telephone has different calling tones between a body (fixed device) and the portable device while an incoming call is generated in the wire/wireless telephone having the portable device, thereby generating different sound sources. Thus, when the fixed device is located near the portable device, a user may hear unpleasant calling tones due to the different calling tones.
Also, in a recent telephone using high quality chords, if the body has a calling tone having forty chords and the portable device has a single-sound calling tone, there is a problem.
Furthermore, when calling tones are generated in the fixed device and the portable device in turn regardless of the distance between the portable device and the fixed device, the fixed device generates a high-chord calling tone and the portable device generates a single-sound calling tone. As a result, the user can become very annoyed by different calling tones.
The following patents are considered to be generally pertinent to the present invention, but are burdened by the disadvantages set forth above: U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,027 to Mauney et al., entitled ENHANCED WIRELESS HANDSET, INCLUDING DIRECT HANDSET-TO-HANDSET COMMUNICATION MODE, issued on Nov. 19, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,628 to Kuno et al., entitled TELEPHONE SET, issued on Oct. 29, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,172 to Weinstein, entitled ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY FOR RANGE FINDING USING RADIO WAVE SIGNAL STRENGTH, issued on Dec. 8, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,722 to Schaible, entitled MOBILE RADIOTELEPHONE STATION TWO-WAY RANGING SYSTEM, issued on Jan. 12, 1982; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,620 to Schaible, entitled MOBILE RADIOTELEPONE STATION TWO-WAY RANGING SYSTEM, issued on Oct. 21, 1980.